The Healthcare Advisory Board (HAB) is a nineteen member advisory board to the Board of County Commissioners. The HAB has been charged with monitoring the following by the Board of County Commissioners;

• The health status of the Leon County Community and its citizens so as to achieve maximal achievable good health for the community and all citizens; and
• The areas of health care problems or disease states threatening the good health of the community or its citizens and to seek solutions to rectify such problem areas; and
• The need, viability, and cost effectiveness of health care proposals that require county funding.

The HAB’s statement of purpose as defined in their by laws is as follows;

“It shall be the duty of the Health Care Advisory Board to monitor the health care status of the Leon County Community and its citizens to achieve maximal achievable good health for the community and all citizens. Identify areas of health care problems, disease states, or access issues threatening the good health of the community and its citizens. Identify potential solutions to rectify those problems areas. Review health care proposals that request county funding or approval and advise the County Commission concerning the need, viability, and cost effectiveness. Review and analyze the effectiveness of Leon County’s health care services and programs for indigent and uninsured residents of Leon County and to report to the Board their findings and recommendations, annually, or as necessary. “

The nineteen HAB members represent the stakeholders in Leon County with regards to the prevision of primary healthcare delivery to the indigent population. Currently the Board is composed by two types of members. Seven individual appointees made by the individual County Commissioners and eleven members that represent the following local organizations;

• Bond Community Health Center
• Capital Health Plan
• Capital Medical Society
• Florida A&M University
• Neighborhood Health Services
• FSU College of Medicine
• Leon County School Board
• Capital Regional Medical Center
• Tallahassee Memorial Hospital
• Leon County
• The County Health Department

In addition to the above members a single County Commissioner also sits on the HAB as a member bring the total number of members to nineteen.

The Current HAB members are as follows;

Chairman, Dr. Jim Stockwell, Capital Medical Society
Vice-Chairman, Mr. Art Cooper (Commissioner Thaell)

Bryan Desloge, Leon County Commissioner
Dr. Alam Littles, FSU School of Medicine
Dr. Edward Holifield (Commissioner Proctor)
Dr. Edwardo Williams (Commissioner Sauls)
Dr. Henry Lewis (Commissioner Rackleff)
Dr. Joe Webster, Bond Community Health Center
Dr. Richard Gragg, Florida A&M University
Dr. Spurgeon McWilliams (Commissioner Dailey)
Duncan Moore, Neighborhood Health Services
Homer Rice, Leon County Health Department Administrator
Mark O’Bryant CEO, Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare
Parwez Alam, Leon County Administrator
Bud Wethington CEO, Capital Regional Medical Center
Sheila Costigan (Leon County School Board)
Doug Cooper (Commissioner Desloge)
Steve McArthur, Capital Health Plan
Col. Wilson Barnes (Commissioner Akinyemi)

Infant Mortality

Addressing the issue of infant mortality was one of the HAB’s goals for 2007 and 2008. The HAB members requested that the Board support the effort by sponsoring a community wide workshop in order to bring stakeholders together and create an action plan. The Board of County Commissioner approved the HAB’s request and provided funding for the workshop. Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare donated the meeting space and provided meals; the Leon County Health Department provided printed materials and the Capital Area Health Start Coalition provided staffing along with Volunteers from VolunteerLEON. Private donations were also contributed by multiple HAB members.

On March 15, 2008, the Year of the Healthy Infant Workshop was held at TMH. More than 100 people, representing approximately 30 organizations consisting of citizen groups, health care providers, educators, researchers, public officials, and professional staff collectively discussed the issue of infant mortality and racial disparity in Leon County.

The Workshop was facilitated by the Florida Conflict Resolution Consortium and consisted of five breakout sessions. At the beginning of the Workshop, brief presentations provided information concerning Florida and Leon County infant mortality statistics and the five Infant Survival Priority Areas.

The five breakout groups then convened to discuss each individual Infant Survival Priority area which included:

1. Premature delivery
2. Racial disparity
3. Maternal infection
4. Poor pre-pregnancy health
5. Unsafe infant sleep

At the completion of the breakout sessions, all of the participants reconvened to review the breakout session results, establish priorities, and consider action plans. Florida law states that all counties are charged with the burial of unclaimed or indigent bodies at the county’s expense. The law was enacted to ensure that unclaimed or indigent bodies are properly disposed of for public health purposes.

Infant Mortality Report
Community Action Plan